The power of the written word radiates from within

I'm a fan of Samantha Bee's show, Full Frontal. While I'd prefer more representation than poor Ashley, I think the show did a good take on some Black History subjects. Their "Racist Roadshow," in the second link below, was more enlightening & disheartening than funny, but it told me some stuff I really should have…

2017. There are still several holidays left to you, but I can’t wait to sing you off life’s stage. Well, if I’m being honest, I can’t wait to pelt you with rotten tomatoes & send the stage hook out to “encourage” you off. Should the stagehand accidentally throttle you in the process, I wouldn’t complain.…

For the past few months (on & off; mostly off, considering all the drama in my life this year), I've been working on a series of posts based on a book I read - Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham. They were to be quotations from - & about - Thomas Jefferson, on…

Heather Heyer was the 32 year-old paralegal who died yesterday when a man (I’m not going to name him) drove his car into protesters in Charlottesville. Her mother, Susan Bro, shared this about the daughter she is so proud of:

She always had a very strong sense of right and wrong, she always, even as a child, was very caught up in what she believed to be fair. Somehow I almost feel that this is what she was born to be, is a focal point for change. I’m proud that what she was doing was peaceful, she wasn’t there fighting with people.

Please let’s not have the death of this courageous young woman be in vain. Her last words on her Facebook page are:

Working in student affairs on a university campus, I feel like I hear the words “intersectionality” or “intersectional” said out loud at least 20 times a day (no exaggeration). The word is regularly used as a powerful critique from young women of Color about how White feminist staff members don’t seem to understand the violence we enact. Often, though, I hear the term used by White feminist or “social justice focused” staff such as myself.

We use the term in many vague ways. “We really need to be sure our work is intersectional…We need to be more intersectional in how we talk about student identities…Our teaching strategies must be intersectional and culturally responsive.” I don’t use “we” in the royal sense. This is something I do all the time without thinking critically about my meaning.

Reading used to be a lonely activity. Once upon a time, when you finished a good book and were itching to talk about it, you’d have to seek out a real life person who happened to have read it too and knew what you were talking about.

And if you wanted a book recommendation, you’d have to rely on your mom’s questionable reading tastes or pick the book that looked the most well-read at the library (mystery book germs – eew).

Not so in the age of the Internet. Today, huge online communities of readers (like the one at Books Rock My World!) are just a mouse-click away. As for recommendations, with rating systems like those on Amazon and Goodreads, your next great read is never hard to find.

It’s never been easier to connect with other readers… or more complicated. Because just like real life, reading communities…

After checking out the results from the poll that I posted a few days ago, I’ve decided to give a better and longer description of what my book, Rest in Piece, is all about! For those of you who said a lower price would increase book sales, I’m taking your thoughts into consideration. However, with how the pricing works, I can’t promise a lower price. After all, I do want to make a profit from the sales. I don’t want you to think though that your opinion has gone unnoticed. So without further ado, here’s a more detailed description of Rest in Piece from one of the book’s readers, Ariel from Writing Radiation! Special thanks goes to Ariel for writing this description!

“The Erikson family love their new house. Louise especially loves her new room. She has privacy, space to call her own, & the hauntingly beautiful puzzle…

This is usually the point where I would swear I have nothing against Christians, that I love & cherish people regardless of their religion, & that I welcome them to celebrate their holidays with all the love, gift-giving, decorating, treats, & other trappings they wish. Instead, I think I’ll just imply the heck out of…